Popular Bahamian Song and Social Organization

The song “Who Let the Dog’s Out?” represents the popular side of musical culture in the Bahamas.  It is also representative of the tourist side of the economy within the Bahamas.  This song has more money and diversity in audience behind it, because of the tourist culture on the islands today affecting the social organization.  At least 40% of the Bahamian people are employed directly by the tourism industry. The tourists spend so much money on lodging, dining, shopping and partying that it replenishes and maintains the positive economics of the tourist driven country which trickles down to its musical culture. 

The Baha Men band are the entertainers, singers, and musicians behind the song “Who Let the Dog’s Out?”  They began their careers with their first debut CD entitled Junkanoo in 1992, which was a more traditional CD.  However, they are extremely well-known today because of their modern leap in music and their 2000 remake of “Who Let the Dog’s Out” for which they won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording, a Billboard Music Award for Artist of the Year, and World Music Album of the Year.  Later they won a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award for Favorite Band and Favorite Song. 

The original training of the Baha Men can not be completely listed, but since they had several CD’s released, we know that they are “professionals” with advertisers, managers, and producers behind their music.  We also know that most of the band members are native to the Bahamas and grew up in traditional Bahamian musical culture.  However, they have updated the music they were taught to make it appeal to a wider public, i.e. they commercialized it.  Yet they still have an undertow of the Bahama sound within the music today with the continued use of the goat skin drum, tambourine and cow bell, with an island lilt to their tunes.

This particular song is, and was, listened to by Americans, South American, and crossed the seas to Europe and beyond, selling over 5 million records.  At this point the song is so well know that it is used in part or wholly in advertisements.  Obviously as a sidenote of the popularity and widespread sales of this song, the Bahamas also received additional positive profit.  The island feel and the good-looking island band, advertise the islands every time they make an appearance outside of the islands.  To an extent everyone involved, whether directly or indirectly, benefitted from the prosperity of the Baha Men’s song, “Who Let the Dog’s Out?”

References

Baha Men. Who Let The Dogs Out. Artemis Records. 2000.